Dynamic and Experimental Analysis of a Stand for Fatigue Testing of the Rear Axle of a Passenger Car

The paper presents theoretical and experimental research on fatigue analysis of the rear axle of a passenger car. For this purpose, a stand, in modular construction, has been designed which allows fatigue testing of several types of rear axle suspensions. The operation of the stand is first performed by modelling and simulation in ADAMS, a software for dynamic analysis of multibody systems. Subsequently, the rear axle is tested on the experimental stand by gluing strain gauge transducers, which recorded the specific deformations at nine points. The experimental analysis is corroborated with finite element analysis, which allows to obtain maps with the distribution of mechanical stresses and deformations. The novelty of the research resides in the fact that the stand allows to adjust the loading parameters of the axle. Moreover, various types of rear suspension can be adapted to the stand.